On April 3, 2019, Illinois Central College hosted a signing ceremony on its East Peoria campus to commemorate a series of new agreements with Bradley University. The two Peoria institutions are partnering to ensure a smooth transition for ICC graduates who go on to Bradley—an effort that will increase the baccalaureate degree completion rate for local students and grow the regional workforce.

Through this partnership, students at ICC who have received an Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, or Associate in Engineering Science degree and are preparing for baccalaureate completion at Bradley University will be guaranteed admission if they have a 2.5+ cumulative GPA. Bradley and ICC have also created more than 40 “2+2” agreements to ease the transfer process for students. These agreements map out what courses are needed in the first two years at ICC and what a student is expected to complete at Bradley to graduate in four years. 

Dr. Walter Zakahi, Bradley provost and senior vice president of academic affairs, says this is the right time for these agreements. “Now more than ever, our institutions need to be working together to ensure students’ success and to help meet the local workforce demands,” he explains. PM